


Go Your Own Way

by gahtheone



Series: Teric One-Shots [2]
Category: FBE
Genre: Fleetwood Mac, High School, Humor, Love, M/M, Prom, Romance, Struggle, Teric, declaration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 20:16:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13934568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gahtheone/pseuds/gahtheone
Summary: Everyday, Tom finds out his feelings for Eric are getting stronger and stronger. One day, he decides he has had it. With prom just around the corner and with that Tom’s graduation, he must make a decision before it’s too late.





	Go Your Own Way

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back! (not that I was too absent). Needless to say, the title comes from the famous Fleetwood Mac song (see what I did there?).

Everyone started filling the hallways as the bell rang, indicating it was lunch time. Hundreds of students headed from the third floor to the cafeteria, and within the students was Tom, a senior who was practically pushing everyone aside to get to the second floor and catch up with Eric, his best friend and a junior. His plan of getting there just as the boy was getting out of class almost always failed miserably, for his friend was already out when he reached the classroom, and the large amount of people that blocked his way didn’t help either. 

Ah, but that day... He’d fail too. Dammit. 

Tom didn’t even know why he insisted so much in that nonsense. The pair had a pact that whoever got first to the cafeteria would save the other a seat. He could easily call and ask him to wait for him so they could go together. But he was too stubborn to follow any kind of logic lately.

Why? Well, trying to come up with any reason would be counterproductive, not to mention a total waste of time. The poor boy would be lying to himself if he came up with a different answer than the real. 

Tom was in love. He didn’t know how or when, he just knew it. And every day that love grew stronger and stronger. Yet he tried so hard to act as if nothing was unusual, as if everything was ok. He tried really hard to ignore the butterflies in his stomach whenever he was around him, the urge he always felt to call or text him when they weren’t together, the anxiety he got whenever Eric wouldn’t answer, the relief when he finally did, the millions and millions of thoughts and dreams featuring his pretty face, and the pain he felt for not being able to say or do anything about it. 

He was afraid, and that was very normal. Ok, maybe not for him, for it wasn’t very common that boys fell for other boys in that school. He was afraid not only of being rejected, but of being, after that, ridiculed, insulted, harassed, and many other bad things he had seen other boys go through (in the news). With that in mind, he hadn’t been the same, and had turned into a sad boy, who hid his face behind a fake smile everytime his friend got near. 

But Eric had noticed, and did everything he could to cheer him up. Poor clueless boy. Eric didn’t think there was a chance of a crush, for he thought that something bigger happening was what bothered him. Tom was graduating. That was enough reason to make them both sad. They were parting ways, and even if it was for a year, it wouldn’t be the same. 

And Tom knew that too, and it only had gotten things worse. That, until a Saturday night when he was watching some movie with a high school as the central scenario. He saw how the guy was encouraged by his friend to go after the girl of his dreams before school was over, and he did, even serenading her with some lame ass song. But he succeeded. 

 _”School is almost over”_ Tom had thought that night. _“I have to tell him. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way, even if I’m rejected, ridiculed, insulted, school is almost over. I have nothing to lose, except my friend... And my pride...”_

Shaking his head, he started drafting his plan for a big declaration of love. Ok, not big, he wanted it to be something intimate just for them. He might have been leaving, but Eric still had another year at school, and he didn’t deserve the fallout of his failed plan. 

First, the occassion. Tom knew exactly what. Prom was just a week away, and he didn’t have a date, and he knew Eric wasn’t even interested in getting one, or going for that matter (both boys had already rejected a bunch of girls), for his favorite show’s finale would air that night, so that was the perfect opportunity to make him go with him. 

Second, the song. That was a little tricky. He couldn’t use a lame song. He sang horribly. He couldn’t afford a tambourine if he wanted a nice tux. _“I’ll save that one for later”._

Everything was starting to fall in place... Until Tom noticed he had missed a little detail. Was Eric even interested in boys like he was? If he wasn’t then everything was being arranged for nothing.

_“Dammit, Tom, dammit!”_

He tried to think, he tried to remember if there had been any sign, anything that could give him even the tiniest amount of hope. 

_While sitting in the garden with some other friends, Tom and Eric laughed at the girl who had said she didn’t find any of the boys in ‘N Sync attractive._

_“Are you kidding me?” Eric said. “Justin Timberlake is like the hottest man on Earth!”._

Tom frowned a bit, deliberating. _“No, it’s not enough”._

_One of the athletes passed next to Tom while he and Eric headed to the exit. As they walked, Eric turned around, looking at the guy’s butt._

Tom frowned a little bit more. _“Ok, maybe that I could use. But there’s got to be something else...”_

_All lockers had hearts and Cupid pictures for Valentine’s Day that morning. Tom got whatever he needed for his next class and closed his, revealing a smiling Eric behind it._

_“Hey” he said. “I didn’t see you there”._

_“I just came” Eric replied. “You know this day is for couples and friends, right?”_

_“Right”._

_“Well, I want to ask you something”._

_“Shoot”._

_“Do you know what ‘roar’ means?”_

_Tom frowned. “No”._

_Eric gave him the sweetest smile he had ever seen. “It means ‘I love you’ in dinosaur”._

_”Awww” Tom grinned as Eric hugged him. “I love you too, man”._

_His friend tightened his grip around the older boy and gave him a peck on the cheek._

Tom snapped out of his memory. He hadn’t even noticed he was smiling. _“God, I’m so gone for him”._

And so, he found his way to the cafeteria, where Eric was already waiting for him in a table with a smile on his face and two trays of food. 

“Hi” Tom greeted, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach again. “How did you get two?” 

“I have my ways” Eric smirked. “This one’s yours, it has an apple instead of a pear, like you like it”. 

“Thanks!” Tom said. _“Am I actually the only one who’s feeling this way?”_

“So how was class?” asked Eric. 

“It was alright” he replied. “We’ve been mostly talking about graduation, you know? It’s just two weeks away”. 

“Uh, right” Eric said, looking down. “Is there any chance you could fail the year so we can graduate together?” 

Tom raised an eyebrow. “Is that really what you want?” 

“Of course not!” he chuckled. “I just wish you weren’t older. Or that I wasn’t younger”. 

“It’s ok, Eric. It’s just a year. And no matter what, I’ll always be by your side. I’m your best friend, I love you”. 

“Yeah, I know. You love me, I love you, I know”. 

“But not the way I do” Tom said before he could even notice. He grimaced, knowing he had just screwed everything up. 

Eric glanced at him, a little surprised. “What?” 

“Nothing, I said I was your best friend and then I stopped talking!”. 

“You... You love me... That way?” 

“It isn’t the right thing to do, I know” Tom said, giving up, filling with courage. “But how can I ever change things that I feel? If I could, I’d give you my world and...” 

“Tom” said Eric, giving him a smile. “Stop reciting Fleetwod Mac lyrics and kiss me”. 

This time, it was Tom’s turn to be surprised. “What?” 

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to admit it” Eric chuckled. “Come on”. 

Tom smiled at him too, almost not believing it was happening. He leaned over the table and met Eric’s lips, as their hands touched softly. The moment it happened, Tom wanted to scream, laugh, cry, and everything else. That must have been what happiness was like. He was not expecting Eric to actually feel the same way as him. But there they were, just giving each other sweet kisses and smiling after finally separating, just looking at each other, ignoring the girls at another table who put their hands on their chests and sighed dreamingly, and ignoring the football coach handing a twenty dollar bill to the Principal after witnessing the scene. 

“You have no idea how bad I’ve wanted to do that” Tom said. 

“Guess what” Eric said. “You’ll get to do that everyday from now on”. 

"Yay" Tom smiled, kissing him again. 

"You do know that song's about a break-up, though, right?"

"It is not!" 

Eric chuckled. "Hopefully no one will have to go their own way"

“Hey” he said. “We’ll work it out. We’ll find a way. It’s only a year”. 

Eric nodded. “Ok”. 

“Just one more thing” Tom said. 

“What is it?” 

“Will you go to prom with me?” 

“Absolutely not” Eric said with a teasing grin. 

“Oh, come on!” Tom said, faking a sad face. “Please?” 

Eric motioned as if he thought it over. “I guess I can set the DVR to record the finale...”. 

“Yes!”

”...but you’ll have to do something in return”. 

“What?” he asked. 

Eric gave him another smile and asked him to approach with his finger, lifting his eyebrows again and again.

Tom smiled and kissed him again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the most inspired I’ve been in days! Hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and please leave feedback, I appreciate it!


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